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history chapter 1
key terms
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| government: | : the institution through which a society makes and enforces public policies |
| public policies: | all the things a government decides to do |
| legislative power: | the power to make laws |
| executive power: | the power to enforce and administer laws |
| judicial power: | the power to interpret laws |
| dictatorship: | : a government in which all power rests with an individual or small group |
| democracy: | a government in which supreme authority rests with the people |
| state: | a body of people, living in a defined territory, with a government that can make and enforce law without the consent of any higher authority |
| sovereign: | to have supreme and absolute power within a territory |
| divine right: | the theory that governments gain their authority from the will of God |
| autocracy: | government in which a single person holds all political power |
| oligarchy: | : government in which a small, usually self-appointed group has the sole power to rule |
| unitary government: | : a government in which all power belongs to one central agency |
| federal government: | a government in which power is divided between one central and several local governments |
| division of powers | the split of power between central and local governments |
| confederation: | an alliance of independent states |
| presidential government | a government with separate executive and legislative branches |
| parliamentary government: | a government in which the executive branch is part of the legislative branch and subject to its control |
| majority rule: | the principle that the will of the majority controls the actions of government |
| compromise: | the process of blending and adjusting competing views and interests |
| citizen: | one who holds certain rights and responsibilities within a state |
| free enterprise system: | an economic system characterized by the private ownership of capital goods, private investment, and a competitive marketplace that determines success or failure |